Historian Armen Ayvazyanwrites:
Many rightful criticisms were made about the first conference of the Nicolaitan schismatic movement held last Sunday in Hovhannavank. However, one extremely important circumstance seems to have escaped our attention. I am talking about the fervent personal participation of RA Defense Minister Suren Papikyan in that sectarian gathering and its possible serious consequences for the army.
Let me clarify. If the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia rejects and does not recognize the Catholicos of All Armenians and the congregation gathered around the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, from bishops to priests and deacons, can the generals and colonels acting under the Ministry of Defense act differently? Can they appear, for example, at weddings, funerals, or funerals where clerics loyal to Garegin II officiate? Especially since the name of the Catholicos is necessarily mentioned in all those ceremonies.
Can generals and colonels visit St. Churches of Etchmiadzin and participate in true liturgies, or will the schismatic minister and the CP elite see it as a "betrayal" of their political-heretical team, with corresponding personnel consequences? In other words, the military career of senior officers is actually directly dependent on the religious-political interests of the ruling group.
In addition, a number of officers may choose to join the Nicolaitan sect in pursuit of narrow personal goals, while others will stick to national values and remain loyal to Saint Etchmiadzin. This division can deepen the crisis and have serious consequences on the morale and psychological state of the Armenian Army, which is already in an unsatisfactory state.
What will be the fate of the gunners who serve honestly in the army? Will they try to force them to abandon their vow, to reject the Armenian Catholicos and diocesan leaders? I am sure they will not choose the path of schism. But in that case, what steps will the Minister of Defense take?
Many other questions arise, the discussion of which is even pointless at the moment.
In short, by participating in that false "liturgy" directed against the unity of the Armenian Church and the Catholicos of All Armenians, Suren Papikyan actually involves the army, especially high-ranking officers, in an artificially provoked intra-national religious conflict and internal political conflicts. And this openly contradicts the RA Constitution and relevant laws, by which the army is declared as an apolitical structure. This dangerous course of Nicola's dissection is fraught with the most serious consequences, which must be prevented before it is too late.
